April 5th, 2010
The quality of your experience in college will be most affected by the town in which you live. That’s why it’s important to select one that has its own identifiable characteristics – separate from the homogeny of Anytown, USA. If you look hard enough, you’ll find one that meshes with your personality and allows you to be yourself in full, which is important in a time when you’re establishing your identity.
Generally, there are two different types of college towns – towns that were built around the college and towns in which the college happened to be built. For example, one of the biggest and most popular universities in the country – Penn State – is located in State College, Pennsylvania, which consists of 39,893 people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The enrollment at Penn State is 44,832, so "Happy Valley" revolves around the university, especially when it comes to college football. The town stops on Saturday afternoons during the fall while as many as 110,000 fans white-out Beaver Stadium, outnumbering the population of State College by almost three times. Students enjoy the close-knit atmosphere that comes along with living in a true college town where the pace of life is slower. A more urban lifestyle can be experienced at universities like USC, UCLA, NYU and Texas. Students have access to all of the normal conveniences and pitfalls that come with city life. They have the ability to attend museums, rare concerts and pro sporting events, but have to deal with additional traffic and crime.
In a good college town, the traditions of the school are always observed by the locals, and this goes for towns both big and small. USC football games attract more than 80,000 fans to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on fall Saturdays, even though there are many other things to do in the area. There must be presence of long-standing mom and pop establishments, including restaurants and bars that reflect the culture of the school. A burger joint in State College might be adorned with football memorabilia, while a West Texas college town might have one or two barbeque eateries. Fraternity and Sorority members might visit one bar – or many more if you’re in a Greek intensive environment like Oxford, Mississippi – while hipsters might go to another – like one of the many if you live in Austin. The atmosphere of the area surrounding the school is maintained by each generation of students with the help of tradition. How much fun you’ll have in a certain college town depends on where you assimilate the best.
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